Cats and the law: evolving protection for cats and owners

This article examines the practical impact of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 on companion animal owners and their companions. It argues that the true significance of the Act is in creating a 21st Century conception of animal welfare based on the needs of animals. Arguably this amounts to a form of rights given that the Act requires owners to consider the needs of individual animals representing a departure from previous legislation which was largely negative in scope i.e. specifying prohibited actions towards animals. Instead, the Animal Welfare Act 2006 imposes a positive obligation to provide animal welfare, signalling an end to 'standard' approaches to animal welfare and instead requiring responsible, informed human-animal domestic relationships

Mainstreaming after Lisbon: advancing animal welfare in the EU internal market

This article traces the evolution of EU animal welfare law and policy. It considers the scope that Member States have to protect the welfare of animals and asks: In the absence of an EU animal welfare policy underpinned by a legal basis on which to adopt animal welfare laws, to what extent have the EU institutions legislated in order to protect the welfare of animals

Cats and the law: research report

This research examines the legal status of cats, within the UK’s legal system (primarily in England and Wales) but also in an international context. It considers a range of different areas of law and conflicting perspectives within the UK’s animal welfare, contract, criminal and environmental law and also addresses issues of ownership and liability. In particular, the research examines how both domestic and wild cats are subject to different protection under the law and the manner in which ambiguities concerning the status of wild and domestic cats impose liability on humans for their actions in dealing with cats. The research was commissioned by the Feline Advisory Bureau (FAB) (now International Cat Care (iCatCare)) on behalf of the Cat Group (a consortium of different charities) who identified that a number of legal questions could arise for cat owners for which there does not currently seem to be a definitive answer. The research considers the legal status of cats in the context of not just the enforcement of animal welfare law but also within the context of other aspects of the law, which includes policy and ethical considerations relating to animal ownership and welfare. The research deals primarily with domestic cats in England and Wales and changes brought about by the Animal Welfare Act 2006,which consolidates much earlier legislation and both promotes animal welfare and provides an enforcement mechanism through which punishment may be pursued where there is a breach of animal welfare standards

Local Food Consumers: How Motivations and Perceptions Translate to Buying Behavior

Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Understanding the Connections Between Consumer Motivations and Buying Behavior: The Case of the Local Food System Movement

Local and organic food systems represent some of the many food sector innovations of the past decade that signal that consumers are increasingly diverse and have heterogeneous preferences that reflect their unique values and preferences (Thilmany, Bond and Bond, 2008). Yet, regardless of the significant attention and growth surrounding sustainable foods, there is still a demand for research investigating the intersection of economic and psychological factors that can aid in predicting and explaining consumer behavior. This paper uses an attitude-behavior framework, the Theory of Planned Behavior, to explore the predictive ability of psychological concepts of willingness to pay for different attributes associated with sustainable foods. Consumer attitudes toward organic, fair trade and local labeled food as well as their level of "effectiveness" are measured in an effort to understand behavioral intentions. This study uses approximately 1000 responses from a 2008 nationwide survey of consumers to investigate the role of public benefits assigned to sustainable food products manifesting in a potential increase in willingness to pay.sustainable food, willingness to pay, theory of planned behavior, perceived consumer effectiveness, Agribusiness, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing,

Local and Organic: Substitutes or Complements? An In-Store Evaluation of Labels for Apples

Over the past two decades, consumer demand for niche products has grown substantially. The primary objective of this paper is to disentangle the value consumers place on two prominent food claims, organic and local (defined as Colorado Proud in this study) as they relate to fresh produce. Using primary data from a choice experiment conducted in a grocery store that has conducted co-promotional efforts with the Colorado Proud program, we found the value of the “local” claims trumps that of “organic” in apples. However, the difference in results between the experiments that offered participants either one- or two-pounds is far more pronounced, illustrating how scaling may influence estimates in such market-based research.choice experiment, local foods, organic, apple consumer demand, Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Marketing, D12, Q11, Q18,

Differentiating criminal networks in the illegal wildlife trade: organized, corporate and disorganized crime

Historically, the poaching of wildlife was portrayed as a small-scale local activity in which only small numbers of wildlife would be smuggled illegally by collectors or opportunists. Nowadays, this image has changed: criminal networks are believed to be highly involved in wildlife trafficking, which has become a significant area of illicit activity. Even though wildlife trafficking has become accepted as a major area of crime and an important topic and criminologists have examined a variety of illegal wildlife markets, research that specifically focusses on the involvement of different criminal networks and their specific nature is lacking. The concept of a ‘criminal network’ or ‘serious organized crime’ is amorphous – getting used interchangeably and describes all crime that is structured rather than solely reflecting crime that fits within normative definitions of ‘organized’ crime. In reality, criminal networks are diverse. As such, we propose categories of criminal networks that are evidenced in the literature and within our own fieldwork: (1) organized crime groups (2) corporate crime groups and (3) disorganized criminal networks. Whereas there are instances when these groups act alone, this article will (also) discuss the overlap and interaction that occurs between our proposed categories and discuss the complicated nature of the involved criminal networks as well as predictions as to the future of these networks

Eat Your Fruits and Veggies: Who Informs Consumers about Produce Choices and Nutrition?

Food consumption trends in the U.S. may be affected by and/or contributing to the growth in food- and nutrition-related information channels. Information channels are increasing in number, as are the sources (McCluskey & Swinnnen 2004) that provide information. This paper examines consumer perceptions of the relative desirability of various food and nutrition information sources and education methods as well as the relative credibility of various food and nutrition sources. Using data from a 2006 nationwide consumer survey, comparative summary statistics show significant differences between information delivery methods and sources that consumers use and trust. By understanding how consumers receive and value information we can better target consumer groups.Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,